Nobody's Home
by Tanis Ryuu
Summary: Why pick on Kaoru? a lot of my fics do...ok, i haven't yet ever written a decent summary yet, so i've given up. kaoru gets chased. kaoru's friend dies. kaoru is sadistic: it's kinda funky....r&r
1. Default Chapter

NOBODY'S HOME

I love Avril Lavenge, so if I get a flame for using her material, I _will_ be pissed…and don't think I won't retaliate.

I couldn't tell you why she felt that way. She felt it everyday.  
And I couldn't help her…

I just watched her make the same mistakes again.

And again…

January 13.

…Great people say simple things that go down in history and are considered sacred today. They used the same words I use every day. This is the last page in my journal, so I wanna say something meaningful, too, with the last space I own. Megumi has saved my life countless times but I'm not sure how I could've saved hers even this once. I remember, I was hiding behind a sushi restraint…while in the alley across the street that bastard beat Megi-chan. She had already stopped screaming. I guess she went unconscious.

I want to be an actress…not sluts like Britney Spears or Lindsay Lohan…but one of those ladies that had style and class. Someone looked up to…someone girls like me could admire. Someone like Megumi-chan…

What's wrong, what's wrong now?  
Too many,

too many problems.

_As the dark shape exits the alley with murder burning on the back burner, the small girl gathers her extra shoes and the scattered pages filled with chicken scratch. _

Don't know where she belongs,

_Just as she was taught, Kaoru looks both ways before crossing the street. No cops. No strange shadows. Not a soul but hers in the perimeter. Megumi would need her now. Somebody had to get her home…again. Out of the frying pan…and into the fire._

where she belongs.

_Home…again._

_Home again…_

She wants to go home…but nobody's home

_Kaoru supposes the boxes and crates broken and scattered were once stacked against the back fence. Perhaps Megumi knocked them down when she tried to escape_?

Megumi was brave at first. Kaoru watched her stand up to the man and tell him to leave her alone. The man then asked her where the little brat was. _He was looking for me… _Megumi looked confused, and so the man hit her and said he'd settle for her instead. What did the man mean? _Realization had hit her a long time ago…but her little mind was still partially naïve then and had no comprehension of the degree of evils taking place…_Kaoru couldn't see what happened next. The bad man had drug Megumi to the back of the alley.

"Megi-chan?"

_No answer. Her voice echoes viciously in the cloud stricken moonlight. Kaoru clutches her high-heeled shoes closer to the dirty chest of the much-too-large shirt and takes a closer look around the darkest skirts of the lane. The pointed heels dug into her skin through the thin shirt. A wisp of a spider's web brushes her cheek. The girl squeals in terror, and then a hand plasters itself on her face. Kaoru tries to escape the grasp at first. The familiar smell of Megi-chan fills her child senses._

"Megi-chan!? Di Jobu Ka?"

_the girl's question is hardly understandable through the fingers of a fallen hero. The older care taker moans…and her grip loosens on the face of Kaoru. Unable to feel her caregiver's touch is more horrifying than the presence of the spider. Invisible feet carry the girl deeper into the darkness._

"Megumi! Where are y-"

_With a cry of surprise, the child hits the earth. Her small body is draped over a large, cold lump. The body on the ground moans again._

"Megi-chan! Oh, Megi-chan…I found you. Did I hurt you? Are you able to walk?"

_Kaoru crawls off her comrade and brushes the filth from the woman's face with blind hands. She pats her cheek softly._

"Megumi-open your eyes…we have to go home. C'mon Megi-chan, we can't sleep here…

Please wake up!"

_Megumi I'm scared._

_Curling up tight and close to the chilled body of Megumi brings small comfort to an exhausted Kaoru. sleep refuses to come easy, but lying awake is too frightening. What if that mean man comes back?_

It's where she lies, broken inside.

With no place to go

No place to go to Dry her eyes

_Megumi…I'm so tired. Why can't we go home? Why can't you take me home…?.. _

Broken inside

_Glazed over orbs stare tearful…exhaustion…a bone shattering wind is blowing up from the ocean…tattered rags stained cherry cannot stop the gale…scent of guilt, loss, and sabotage trail the child in tears of black. Can these heavy feet make it to the bridge? The wooden sidewalk beneath her bare feet screech, wet from the morning downpour. That same shower washed Megumi before the sun rose…washed all the blood down the drain…_

Open your eyes and look outside,

find the reasons why.

_Too much. That's too much blood. Megi-chan…_

_Instant maturity sucks the innocent shine from the girl's once happy eyes._

You've been rejected, and now you can't find what you left behind.

_Stop shaking her…stop…Megi-chan is not going to wake up…Megumi is never going to get up and take you home…_

Be strong, be strong now…

Too many problems

Doesn't know where she belongs

Where she belongs…

* * *

"Please! Just let me wash my hair!" 

"Get out of here! This is a merchandise shop-"

"Those are PUBLIC restrooms!"

"-_not_ a bathhouse. Get moving street trash or I'll call an officer."

The clerk returns to his post stocking shelves and what-not. A fourteen year old Kaoru glances around, and then dashes back inside. She isn't caught before reaching the bathroom door on this second effort. She strips down to graying underclothing, before sticking her head under the tap of heated luxury. The water filled her eyes, ears, and mouth, but Kaoru lets it saturate her senses. Grainy soap is forced through age-old grease in her hair; too bad the soap was notliquid...or sented…this stuff will not foam up or get rid of most of the grit. The grainy soap _did_ feel good on the itch, though. Was it lice or just dandruff? The girl smirks and hot water drenches her teeth. Did it really matter?

'Stupid long hair. As soon as I find a pair of scissors, this mess is gone.'

Air blown hand driers prove very useful for dehydrating the traces of the cleaning, but climbing back into those dirty "clothes" is much more difficult than Kaoru anticipated. Disregarding inbred instinct, the girl checks the insufficient results in the mirror. The mirror. How she would kill for some mascara…or blush…or a cover-up stick to hide the hunger circles under her dim eyes.

Her feelings she hides

Kaoru smirks sardonically at her plain features. Megumi showed her how to get cleaned up this way without having to pay for bathhouses, yet Megumi's ending result was so much prettier than Kaoru's. Megumi had looked like a Goddess…not a drowned rat.

Her Dreams she can't find

She's falling behind

The itch was back again. Kaoru ran blunt nails dig through the rodent's nest covering her head. What would happen if Kaoru had a bad itch while acting a part on stage? Are actresses allowed to scratch?

The sardonic smirk was back.

An actress

Did she really still believe Megumi's crap? Megumi once wanted to be an actress. Her desire fired Kaoru…but Megumi is dead…and that's what must happen to Kaoru's silly ideas…

She clouts at the defiant face in the glass.

"You're an idiot. They're all right…street trash…"

She's losing her mind

That damn clerk caught her sneaking toward to door. She escapes with a bruise from the broom, but his shouts follow her all the way down the street. It's raining outside, and Kaoru doesn't see the car. The Mercedes shoves her back against toward the curb, spinning the girl haphazardly into a trash bin. Honking and screaming obscenities, the Mercedes speeds on through the red light. Kaoru catches her breath with the fetid air floating among refuse of the spilled tin. Her leg hurts. Bad. The cut is still fresh and bleeding freely, but a scratch like this will hurt a lot worse later.

Another door is locked. Kaoru screams in frustration and punches the hood in passing. Her cry is drowned out by the clouds' onslaught. A mixture of tears and rain is blinding enough without having to deal with the throbbing in her leg. The thigh's gash had broken open again and is leaving a scarlet film down her calf, staining her sock. To add to the evening, Kaoru's hand now aches. Using the other appendage, she tries the door to another vehicle in the hotel's parking lot. Her bridge was only another mile, but with her leg the way it is, Kaoru doubted she wanted to attempt that distance.

She can't find her place

The door will not budge. An old Nissan looks promising, but after trial and error, any dry automobile would suffice.

She's losing her faith

A low sports car catches her attention when the locking knob stands more erect than most. The door opens neatly. Clambering inside involves no hesitation or invite. Kaoru huddles in the passenger seat shuttering, sobbing, waiting off the chill. Her flushed face hides behind a curtain of impossibly saturated strands of raven portions. Megumi taught her to live. Most of the time, the companion's memory was the only motivation to keep going.

She's fallen from grace

She's all over the place

She wants to go home…but nobody's home.

It's where she lies,

broken inside

broken inside

_Megi-chan, why did you leave? I needed you to still take care of me…_

_I'm broken…Megi-chan, I'm broken inside…_

"_WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY CAR!?!?"_

_Sleeping, moron, what does it look like…_

"Get out of here, slut, you're drenching the seat!

"_Hey_!"

"My seat! You little ---- ruined my leather! Get outa here!"

Still disoriented, Kaoru dumbly tumbles out. The sun wasn't even up yet. Curse stupid early risers...Before she can slam the door shut, the owner of the red Mercedes whips out his cell phone. Kaoru realizes it is time to run.

Megumi would not have gotten caught…

Megumi would not have overslept…

With no place to go. No place to go

Sore, stiff, and bleeding again, Kaoru runs from the car that hit her last night…

To dry her eyes

Broken inside.

She wants to go home…she wants to go home…

Would the police find her at her bridge? Probably. They'd already chased her there once on a previous entanglement. Kaoru needs to find someplace crowded to hide since it is easier to blend in and disappear completely in a group setting. The shopping court was just up the street. Considering that today was Monday, that place would definitely be packed to overflowing. Thinking about jostling her leg in that crowd made her queasy, but it was too perfect a hiding place to pass up.

But nobody's home

This is where she lies

She lies

leave a review?

lol

laterz

luvs

Tanis


	2. Breaking the Girl

In the last chapter, the police were after Kaoru for breaking and entering. Well, they musta caught her cuz she needs rescueing.

I hate predictability, so you prolly dunno who this hansome hero is...yet. The fic goes along to "Don't tell me" by Avril Lavegne...o.0...dang i love canadians! read and enjoy...say something if you feel so inclined.

* * *

**Breaking the Girl**

You held my hand and walked me home,

_Kaoru knows better than to trust a stranger…especially a universaltightwad like this, yet a smile and the bold way he conducts himself with the officers is enough to capture just about any girl's attention. _

I know

…_.I know it's against all I know to take his offer of a hot meal and a warm bed tonight, but blue eyes like that can't lie…can they?...Megumi, I wish you'd tell me what I should chose to do…Kaoru knows of the men that will kidnap street trash and sell them to brothels. This stranger looks too high class to try anything like this, though. And if he is so White Collar, why is he soiling his shoes to help her?_

I know

Why you gave me that kiss

it was something like this it made me go

_No. No, Kaoru must politely reject._

_The stranger is so uncommonly friendly. Kaoru is rather nervous at first, and when he offers to drive her to her part of town, she nearly declines…nearly. Introducing himself as 'Shishio', the suave gentleman seats the homeless exhaustion in his SUV, then steps lightly to his side of the vehicle. The rain splashes on his black hair and trench coat shoulders..._

…it made me go

ooh ohh

_Oh no. These is not Kaoru's directions. Swimming thoughts behind her bushel of tangled hair scream of rape, murder, and Megumi. 'Shishio' opens her side door and extends a helping hand._

"_Where have you brought me?"_

_Again he insists she comes in for a hot meal._

_Kaoru asks 'Shishio' why he would do this for a…girl like her. His smile is genuinely startling. It is filled with humored warmth._

"_Kaoru, I run a homeless shelter."_

"_But I have a home. I would like to go back to it, thank you."_

"_Why settle for a back alley with all the rain this evening when you can rest in luxury here?"_

'…_because my gut tells me to run like Hell…' Kaoru doesn't say it aloud, though. His smooth toned fingers clasp her hand, burying it inside his touch. Her muddy hem of her komono drags around her as she walks behind Shishio up the front porch and under the eves of the large flat._

You wiped my tears, got rid of all my fears, why did you have to go?  
Guess it wasn't enough to take up some of my love

"_Shishio-dono, I thought you said this was a homeless shelter…?..."_

_Kaoru indicates the home furnishings of the flat. Shishio laughs. The throaty hack makes her jump._

_"I told you I run a homeless shelter. This is my home. I thought you deserved exceptional handling after your brush with the police._

Guys are so hard to trust

"_You like white whine?"_

…_I don't know…_

_"Would you care for anything in the refrigerator?"_

…_I don't know…_

_"Go ahead. Look around…take your pick, Kaoru."_

…_I don't know…_

Did I not tell you that I'm not like that girl?  
The one who gives it all away

_One bowl of miso soup_

_Hot chocolate_

_Delicateflutefills the room_

_Along with the peculiar cigar smoke…_

Did you think that I was gonna give it up to you, this time?  
Did you think that it was somethin I was gonna do and cry?  
Don't try to tell me what to do,

_Out of the sight of prying eyes. No questions asked. No permission granted. _

Dont try to tell me what to say,

_Don't take her on the kitchen floor…_

You're better off that way

_Don't touch her under the candle's glowing kiss…_

Don't think that your charm and the fact that your arm is now around my neck  
Will get you in my pants (_or my komono…)_

I'll have to kick your ass and make you never forget

_Kaoru can fight against his seduction. _

_Sure she can. Megumi told her she is worth more than a free ride. Megumi proved with her last breath that life was worth more than a cheap hooker; or a lonely gutter urchin looking for sanctuary from the downpour._

I'm gonna ask you to stop,

Thought I liked you a lot,

but I'm really upset

_"Can I find you some dry clothes, Lady Kaoru?"_

_Don't call me that…_

Get out of my head

_"Would you like a tour of my apartment?"_

_The swelling in her full stomach nearly causes Kaoru to vomit. _

get off of my bed

_"No. No thank you. I wish to go to sleep now."_

_She bows at his feet, curled over her knees in feminine submission. _

Yeah, that's what I said

Did I not tell you that I'm not like that girl?

_You know…the one_

The one who, throws it all away

_Shishio smiles warmly, then helps his mud flower stand._

"_In that case, Lady Kaoru, I will show you to your room."_

_Lavish. Silk curtains flow spiritually on a rain-scented wind, dancing inside the room's walls like ethereal ladies in waiting. Shishio kisses her neck goodnight and slides the door closed. A candle at the bedside reveals the silver decals across the sleeping robes splayed out for her choice across the bedspread. _

Did you think that I was gonna give it up to you, this time?

_After a hot bath, fresh clothes against her pearl flesh, and curling up against the mock fireplace, Kaoru is finally able to release her pent up anxiety. The tears flowing down her cheeks glow golden in the fire's light._

Did you think that it was somethin I was gonna do and cry?

_Shishio-dono may require payment later, but he is leaving her alone this night. He has fulfilled his purpose as a gentleman…_

Don't try to tell me what to do,

_For now, anyway…_

Dont try to tell me what to say,  
You're better off that way

This guilt trip that you put me on won't mess me up I've done no wrong  
Any thoughts of you and me have gone away

_Embarrassing as it is to admit, Kaoru slid between the sheets of a real bed for the first time in her life. Dreamless sleep sucks her under almost immediately. _

Did you think that I was gonna give it up to you, this time?  
Did you think that it was somethin I was gonna do and cry?  
Don't try to tell me what to do,  
Dont try to tell me what to say,

_Some time in the early morning, she is pulled from the coma by warm breath splaying evenly across Kaoru's cheek. Shishio's face comes into focus directly above her. _

You're better off that way

'Better off that way  
I'm better off alone anyway

_His fingers over her lips stifle the shriek in her throat. _

_"Silence, Lady Kaoru. Do not be alarmed. I heard you calling out in your sleep, so I came to your beckoning. I realized you were asleep and merely dreaming."_

_That same soothing smile splays across the chiseled, moonlit features. _

_"Are you alright, Lady Kaoru?"_

_Kaoru nods. She folds herself into a bow to thank the man for slipping in to confirm on her welfare._

_"Why call me 'lady', Shishio-dono? I am not born of that title."_

_"All women are ladies in their own sense. A princess and a whore both deserve the same labeling because they are women by nature. Choice and circumstance may not be similar, but the title of 'lady' is always present."_

_Kaoru's head cocks like a confused mutt, bringing a laugh from Shishio's chest. She lowers her eyes and sits up on her knees. Her height is less than half of the man sitting beside her, but somehow this person has made her feel equal. _

…_not inferior. _

_"Will you be able to go back to sleep, Lady Kaoru?"_

_Again, she nods, but with a slight smile._

_"That's the first grin I've seen from you. It makes you look so much more beautiful. Please, smile more often for me, Kaoru. Will you do that for me?"_

_"Hai, Shishio-sama."_

_She whispers. _

* * *

_…'where am i?...this is too warm to be the bridge.'…_

_A glance of investigation around her spacious bedroom reminds Kaoru of the evening and last night. An unfamiliar knock shocks the girl into sitting up. A wide eyed female sticks her curly locks inside the door._

"_Good morning, Lady Kaoru. Your breakfast is downstairs waiting for you when you are ready."_

_The maid blushes beneath her frilly, silly hat._

_"Lady Kaoru?...is that what you called me?"_

_Confusion paints the maid's features. She passes Kaoru's question off as sleep wearing off in incoherent mumbling._

_"My name is Lady Tsubami. It will be a pleasure waiting on you, Lady Kaoru."_

_Lady Tsubami bounces out of the room, leaving a mist of bubbles popping behind her. Kaoru wrinkles her nose in disgust. This girl is way too saccharine. Kaoru sucks the morning breath from her tongue then spits into the bathroom sink. She showers again just to make up for years of paper towel baths. Dressing is more difficult. Which kimono is she allowed to remove from the closet of hundreds of yards of decorated fabrics? A crimson cotton with white lotus flowers embroidered along the cuffs, hems, and breast appeals to her as it is the cheapest looking of the hangings. Would Shishio mind that she was borrowing this? She is about to find out as the door to her room opens under her hands and Kaoru gasps, face to face with the inane grin of Lady Tsubami. This frivilous maid can be no more than 15. She bows to Kaoru, then bustles the older girl down the hall and toward the kitchen in a swirl of bubbles and shrill giggleing chatter._

_Kaoru grimaces and pries her arms out of Lady Tsubami's eager claws. If this woman is the only other human besides Shishio, Kaoru is packing out of here as soon as breakfast is downed. Through the sliding doors, Kaoru comes face to face with Shishio._

_"Good morning, Lady Kaoru." _

_...or perhaps a harried escape can wait until after lunch._

* * *

Shishio has a romantic side. He's freakishly OOC, but y'all can deal with it. Just between you and me, perhaps Shishio's true colors will be revealed as the evil, caniving evil dude we all want Kenshi to dispose of. Or, maybe Kaoru has found her safe home at last. Kaoru and Shishio...who woulda thot?

laterz

luvs

Tanis


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